Sentiment
by abovej0y
Summary: "Experiences, processes. That's what we are, Sasuke"
1. peace

**You can find this story at wattpad under my username abovej0y. Includes some visuals, edited photos, etc.**

* * *

.

.

Swimming

in that pool

of whiteness

was peaceful.

Was that music filling her intestines?

Was it a new flavor on her palate?

Like strings of color and light before her eyes.

What was that scent she could feel wrapping itself around her soul?

Floating in a bed of white, staring at white skies.

Hanging in the momentum.

Particles frozen in the ripple of time.

_Was that life within herself?__  
_

_._  
_._  
_._

.

.

_Have I been awake this whole time?_

_._

_._

_._

The moon was shining.

Stillness and nature were becoming one.

The moon was shining, but then so was the sky.

For the night's peace had been interrupted.

'_I'm loosing consciousness_'

.

.

.

A mistake.

An errand that hid a trap.

An attack that provoked a fight.

Her body lit like a cosmos full of stars.

A night that wasn't dark.

.  
_'__Run__'_  
_._

.  
Around her there was chaos.

.

Within her, only stillness.

.

She opened her eyes.  
Light emanated from the lines covering her body,  
contrasting against her skin.

The bright strokes were tattooed on her flesh.  
Complex geometric patterns sat at her base, on her feet,  
with lines running up her calves up to her hip bones.

It burnt.  
Yet, her consciousness wasn't lost.  
She could still feel.

Though she could not hear, she felt the vibrations of the men around her.  
To an observer, their grunts would've been almost inaudible anyways.

She slowly rose.  
Hissing as she was halted by her own body,  
as the heat threatened her torso.

She noticed a sensation on her fingertips;  
wind hit the moistness still on her hands.

That and the lack of a burning sensation on her chest told her she still had a chance.

Her cough was heavy,  
a thick flow of energy still dripping out her eyes, mouth, nose and ears,  
slowly filling up the environment.

.  
_'Run'_  
.

Her eyes snapped open.  
Alert and determined she took to the woods.  
More and more energy seeping out of her.

All matter around her vibrated as she moved,  
everything within a three meter radius changing it's molecular composition and darting towards her.

The particles felt the gravitational pull,  
their array of information suddenly hacked,  
giving up their shape and becoming part of the ring orbiting around the frantic human.  
An inevitable attraction to the energy sipping out of her  
forced them to leave their natural composition and follow her.

It was piling up.  
More and more by the second.

The path in front of her was becoming less and less real to her flickering mind, less of an importance.

Fighting for her consciousness;  
she knew she was straining it too much.

After all, she was also moving.  
She was asking too much of herself.

Heaving, she let adrenaline boost her performance to try and dissipate the mass of particles circling around her.  
A muted scream was all that left her as she overstrained her capacities  
managing to drop what she had gathered altogether.

Pain hit her arms and stomach as the light continued to trail up her body.  
Then her head was throbbing, but not from physical exhaustion.  
It was her mind becoming more and more worn out,  
requiring more and more effort to stay in touch with reality.

_Her reality._

.  
_'__Don't stop._  
_I can't stop.__'_  
.

Branches and leaves were pushed aside in front of her  
as the bubble of enclosed energy made the way,  
continuing with the hoarding process.

She half cursed, worry about the situation increasing the more she analyzed it.

From afar, a pair of eyes were looking up at the unusually bright night,  
a face full of anticipation fixated on the holographic tint moving through the forest.

He could see it getting closer.

It was almost time.

.  
_'__Run__'_  
.

It was a long distance to travel, especially in her current state.

She couldn't quite feel the outside world anymore;  
like an armor of energy, the light covered her every inch,  
blocking all external stimuli.

She could still see ahead and that was all she needed.

Fear, anger, hope, determination;  
many feelings and values were clinging on to her.

Or rather, there were many feelings and values she was holding onto.

_'Have will, not doubt'_

The moon was out that night —  
Lending her light as a guide  
through what would otherwise be a pitch black forest.

Even with its light cast upon her,  
her own white sphere seemed to be engulfed by darkness.

That is, beyond the three meter radius perimeter that covered her actual body.

Newly collected particles from nature were again circling around her  
fast enough that they cast a bright blueish hue in the ocean of darkness.

It was yet another challenge, yet another experience.

After all, that is what humans are.  
Experiences tied together.  
Experiences that connect with other experiences.

_Consciousness experiencing itself._

_Over and over again._

The ground below her shook as she passed;  
jumping from tree branch to tree branch,  
making an extra effort to touch as little matter as she could.

.  
_Fight or flight, hide or attack, _  
_whatever you choose, _  
_just know you have to be alert at all times_  
_._

These sayings from the past continued giving her strength.  
But she could only feel them,  
as she tried to put words together,  
she realized she could no longer think straight.

She cursed internally again as she felt her consciousness slipping away from her.

The moon was out that night and she was glad.

.  
_'__Come on, I got it, I got it.__'_  
.

The moon was shining, so she didn't feel so alone.

She had company.

That night, she wasn't the only white sphere lending her light in the pitch dark.

.

.

.


	2. start

.

.

.

The start of a new day.  
The sun came up as morning came.  
It had been more than thirty minutes since it  
first peaked over the horizon but stars were still visible.

A pair of dark pools witnessed the morning colors.

Once again, he had not slept.

.

.

.

Morning is different depending on who and how you are.

This morning was just as much of a tedious experience  
as most mornings were for him,  
joined by an underlying headache.

Some mornings, however, were peaceful.

When he'd be out of the hideout, by himself,  
when the sun would gently wake him up.

Watching the sun rise could be a very comforting experience.

An inaudible sigh left his body as he swung his legs over the window pane,  
setting his feet down on the concrete floor.

He had laid in bed for a bit the night before but ended up spending the rest of the night  
sitting outside his window again;  
knee to his chest, katana next to him, contemplating the world.

The long distance between him and the earth  
somehow seemed comforting him, never confining.

He walked over to the sink hidden just behind the plain stone wall and freshened himself up.

The cold water soothed his tired face and aching neck muscles.

He cracked his neck and stretched for a bit before bringing a soft cloth to his face.

He stopped for a minute to breathe,  
feeling the exhaustion from his insomnia taking a toll on him.

He gave the somber landscape outside his window one more look.

The hideout,  
starting many levels underground  
allowed only those at the very top floor to peak at the outside world.

But it wasn't comforting him any more than the view at the bottom did.

Activity could already be heard down below  
and through the door that led to the corridor.

After changing into clean clothes and putting his sandals back on,  
he resolved.

That night he would sleep soundly.

.

.

.

Truth is,  
early mornings reminded him of his days back in Konoha  
and it angered him.

So many mornings he had lived,  
in so many different places and  
under different circumstances and still...

His mind seemed to hold unto the specific feelings,  
smells and thoughts that took him right back to Naruto's ramen in the morning  
or Sakura's freshly prepared obento as they left for missions.

He even remembered what it was like to wake up  
and prepare his own lunch box to take on missions.

He remembered the walk from the compound all the way to their meeting place.

The sights he would see on his way,  
the old lady that always offered him a cup of tea  
grateful since the first time he stopped to help her with some boxes.

He even recalled her grandchildren looking older each day.

He'd call those the golden days if his goals were a bit more simple.

Back then,  
he held hatred within himself, sure,  
but it wasn't crippling.

He could still enjoy the small details of life,  
still had not settled on a perspective about his own life.

Lately,  
it was only when he was sleep deprived that  
he felt anything at all other than anger and frustration.

Maybe because it was in that state where he could find some solace,  
feel human again and less of a killing machine.

Sometimes, he'd just feel numb,  
a numbness that ached for the day to be over,  
for him to be lying in bed reminiscing about his progress in training.

He'd catch himself performing day to day activities through that numbness  
and he wasn't sure if he should praise or reprimand himself for it.

A certain guilt trailed with him, his every step.

.

.

.

.

.

.

"Ah, Sasuke-kun, you're still going at it, huh? Such discipline..."

Sasuke lowered his arms and but didn't deactivate his Sharingan as he heard Kabuto walking towards him.

.

_'__More like stubborness__...'_

_.  
_

Sure enough,  
his insomnia most likely blossomed from the urge to get results,  
the need to find his mind entertained  
as he slowly but surely gained strength.

Maybe it was the need to cling onto the mission he had appointed to himself.  
That need to validate his own decisions.

Sheer anxiety, of his own type.

But every hour, every minute  
always concluded the same way.

One cannot escape from one's self.  
From the moment you are born to the moment you are dead.  
You're the one companion you can't get rid of.

Though his own company was at times counterproductive,  
Sasuke was glad to have such will and resolve to see his decisions through.

_Not much time left for thinking about that_

Life would change, once again by his own hand's doing.

Yet,  
there were some changes already on their way,  
unbeknownst to him.

"I came here to get stronger not to waste my time doing nothing like those slackers"  
Sasuke motioned towards a group on nin  
chattering and laughing in the corner.

Sure enough, they were taking a break to eat;  
again.

His comment didn't go unnoticed by them.

Silence filled the room,  
as it usually did after the Uchiha's snappy replies  
but soon the contorted faces turned away with a 'tch'.

"Orochimaru-sama wants to tell you something, come on"  
Kabuto's voice trailed off as he walked towards the exit.

A complaining sound left his throat but he followed suit.

Looking up at the windows stories above him,  
Sasuke cracked his neck again.

A feeling of vertigo surged from deep down his stomach  
as he imagined himself returning the stare.

.

_'__A spectator or the entertainer.  
You can never be just one.__'_

.

"Why are you telling me this? Why should it matter to me?"  
he asked almost out of habit.

Conversations between the three of them always involved a lot of questioning from Sasuke.  
Always unwilling to waste time doing things that have nothing to do with his training.

Chakra control, jutsu learning;  
he loved information but he was focused and stubborn.

In all his time there,  
this was only the third time they met to go over more theoretical matters.

The first time, they spoke to him about his training.

He studied for weeks on his own accord as his interest was spiked and his will ignited.  
He took it all in and put it into practice during the next year.

Sasuke had access to the library so he made sure to go through  
all the different scrolls and data he could get his hands on.

As good as he was at learning, it would take him several lifetimes  
\- as it did Orochimaru - to ever grasp the wholesome of it.

Instead, he worked on what he could find useful.

So when the second time came around,  
what Orochimaru offered had to be better than what Sasuke had already figured out on his own.

That's when he was introduced to the darker side of information.

However, this third time was different.  
It was not an introduction and it was not an incentive either.

It was a necessity.

"I have reason to believe she might be coming our way.  
If that happens, it's better for you to be aware of these details"  
Orochimaru's expression confused Sasuke.

Was that contempt?

Was it excitement?

Sasuke's eyes were narrowed,  
his lips to the side signaling his hesitation on the matter.

Orochimaru gave a wicked smile and closed his eyes,  
snickering for a second only to then turn towards Kabuto  
to share a conversation of no words.

Kabuto gave a simple nod as Orochimaru walked away.

"You said you heard of this two hours ago, correct?"  
Sasuke's voice didn't show his true interest.

Kabuto smirked before turning towards Sasuke as he fixed his glasses.

"My informants told me Mahounaka-chan is being pursued  
by a group of bounty-hunters sent by Yoruken.  
He's a powerful man."

_'-chan?' _  
Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he heard that.

Kabuto chuckled as he walked towards a table,  
"I'm pretty sure he's been after her her whole life"

He kept drawing conclusions and connecting dots silently as Kabuto finished speaking.

"Why are they after her?"  
To that, Kabuto smirked.

That man always gave Sasuke an uneasy feeling.

The silver-haired was filled by overwhelming excitement,  
but his face showed no more than that smirk which irked the Uchiha.

.

_'Luck is on our side.  
Who would've thought?  
No wonder Orochimaru-sama is nervous...'_

.

"What we're worried about isn't exactly her safety, but rather our own.  
That's why I'm briefing you.  
I suppose that if she truly does come here...  
You'll be in for a treat and those questions will be answered.  
For now, what matters is she's been set up and might lose control"

He continued,  
"As I was saying - my informants tell me  
they'll strike the place where she's staying when night falls.  
Ah... how unfortunate, they'll destroy the whole place knowing how they operate..."  
he trailed off fixing his glasses again.

.

_'He's hiding something'_

_.  
_

Onyx-eyes trailed after his every move;  
analyzed his expressions as he took in Kabuto's tone of voice  
and analyzed the words he spoke.

He was trying to decipher what hid beyond what he was being told.

He'd never get the whole picture, not from Kabuto, nor from Orochimaru,  
so it was up to his deduction skills to uncover the details.

Again, out of habit.

"Ah, well, nothing to do about that.  
Anyways, if she does lose control, it's likely she'll head this way. "

Ah, now Sasuke understood.

_.  
_

_'She's been here before.  
_

_Why?'_

.

Kabuto turned to look at Sasuke,  
an eerie look on his face.

Behind the reflection on his glasses,  
his dark eyes met Sasuke's.

They say that efficient ninja know how to lie on the spot with no reaction.

They say the same about sociopaths.

On this occasion, however, Kabuto's insides didn't feel void.

Bigger plans were in his head,  
and this was like receiving a gift from the heavens.

A lucky charm to complete his collection;  
to add to the puzzle.

Sasuke knew.

He could feel the thrill in the air.

Sasuke knew something else was happening,  
and it did spike his interest,  
but as soon as he felt the thrill,  
he was also reminded of his own personal ambitions.

"Tell me what I need to know"

.

.

.

Afternoon came,  
with its smells of sweat,  
chemicals and with the noise of movement,  
sparring and people.

Sasuke was back at his chambers.  
Readying himself for the upcoming battle.

He understood his Sharingan gave him the upper hand,  
but he still didn't know why.

He knew he was to trap her specifically with genjutsu and should keep his distance.

Not much information was disclosed about this mysterious woman's details.

All he knew was how to attack her.

He usually went into battle better prepared.

Then again,  
he was asked to remain by Orochimaru's side,  
deeper into the compound.

Apparently no one else had been warned or at least it seemed like that  
as he heard the regular activities go uninterrupted.

His eyebrows furrowed.  
He wondered if it was intentional.

No.

He _knew _it was all intentional,  
but he wasn't sure as for what was the motivation behind this arrangement.

_.  
_

_'She's coming from the west'_

_._

His dark eyes followed their usual path out the window.

His room was at the top floor,  
his window just a little above the wall that surrounded the whole place.

He could see the sunset just as he could watch the people who annoyed  
him so much moving at the bottom floor.

Indeed,  
coincidentally,  
his window led to the west.

Maybe if the wall across the window hadn't been so high  
he could have seen what Kabuto sinisterly observed from above.

But as the bright orb of energy entered the 5 km radius,  
both ninjas were at Orochimaru's side.

.

_'And I thought I'd get some sleep tonight.'_

_._

_._

_._


	3. worry

.

_**I know we're all part of something we can't put into words.**_

_**That makes me happy, not having to explain.**_

_**Just being.**_

_._

It was a beautiful morning.

But for some the day had begun long before the sun came up.

From the intimacy of a warm bath,

deep golden eyes observed the sunrise.

She had accepted the relativity of time during the past few years.

Numbers were numbers,

just names to describe something.

So activity did not depend on time, but on intention.

She believed.

She rose late at night, after having rested only for a couple hours.

Though her body yearned to stay under the covers,

her mind was already active.

So she got up and took towards the outskirts of the

town she had been staying at during the past weeks.

Eyeing the houses of those she knew as she walked pass them,

she wondered about their dreams,

thinking about the worlds each was engulfed by.

She felt her lips curl up.

To her,

she was just as awake as when she was asleep.

Waking life was only a continuation of dream life.

Or was it the other way around?

A warm feeling filled her chest as she thought about the uniqueness of the mind.

She thought about how each life differs from the other,

regardless of similarities.

Impressive how it all depends on perspective.

So many angles to so many different things.

And yet,

they are all consciousness discovering itself.

Threads of the same universe connecting.

An immense fabric.

With this in mind, she looked up again,

feeling smaller the longer she stared at the sky.

The penetrating darkness was gone,

the clouds now resembled foam from the ocean.

Pink tinted the morning sky.

As a breeze caressed her,

she closed her eyes and inhaled.

Rays of sunlight were starting to peak through.

Feeling the freshness of the morning,

the brunette stretched her arms over her head and let her head hang behind her shoulders.

Mahounaka Chie was nowhere near "at peace",

but she was willing to spend her life pursuing that state of mind.

Walking as the cool breeze motivated her,

her demeanor became more determined.

A smile got the best of her but her excitement was stopped

as she tried to humble herself and because she didn't want to jinx it.

Challenge was rewarding and could be applied in all areas of life

so every morning she would challenge herself to make the most of it.

Although self-appointed,

aiming to tame the demons of the soul,

the chemistry of the mind and the vibration of the body,

along with the duty of obtaining self-awareness

became her priorities.

She felt as if that was her planetary link.

That which connects a consciousness and its matter

to the very fabric of space and time, to the very origin of life.

_Purpose_.

Unlimited and accessible to anyone.

Chie believed that the pursuit of one's self-discovery is the very mission

delegated to a human soul embarked on this "life" journey.

This link was just as soft as it was harsh.

A responsibility was attached to existence:

to add value through your own human experience.

To lead an individual life as a single voice instead of remaining silent as a part of a much louder whole.

A whole that even when loud, rioting and incredibly alive like in the cells of a plant,

remains silenced by a world that communicates through expression rather than pure energy.

The human communication.

But most of all,

she had come to understand that life is information and that it isn't lightweight.

The more of it you obtain, the heavier it gets.

Still…

She was a human and that had its meaning.

Information was her passion.

The recollection and analysis of data and

the transformation it can undergo during creation fascinated her.

So it came as no surprise to her that,

with how magical and intricate information and the human experience are,

Attached comes a lot of weight that pulls on the being as hard as it can.

Constantly probing the vessels that hold it,

passing judgement constantly to try and break free,

always testing it to make sure only those with true intent have access to its understanding.

She was lucky.

Divided,

a part of her constantly felt grateful for this,

but another part of her felt guilt for this inner resolve of hers,

wishing it was unfaltering and in everyone.

Dropping her bag next to the body of water nearest to the town,

her gaze softened as a feeling of melancholy hit her.

Truth was,

the more information she gathered,

the more sinister everything became,

the harder it became to fully grasp unto the complexity of consciousness.

As of late,

she felt divided between the two extremes.

Ignorance and its bliss,

consciousness and its freedom.

There was a part of her that wanted to bloom,

fresh and full, abstract and free;

while the other succumbed to numbness,

pragmatism and a rational irrationality.

_Thinking about the collective though existing as an individual_

**vs**

_Thinking as an individual while denying your own part in the collective_

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath,

she stepped her feet on the water.

Sending chakra to her feet,

she stepped on the surface and

gave a couple steps forwards while gazing straight ahead,

slowly entering a trance with open eyes.

She observed the lake and the forest,

smelled the fragrances of the morning and heard the chirping of birds.

Around her,

the trees moved in such a beautiful motion.

The colors were still muted but as the sun continued to rise so did the saturation in her sight.

.

Breathing deeply,

her cheery demeanor turned into a somber one,

fixated on the sadness such beauty made her feel.

Aching to stop thinking and simply become a part of it.

Feeling jealousy towards nature and its endless perfection,

both visually and metaphorically.

She lingered in that headspace for a while.

.

It was penetrating the air,

all these feelings emanated from her.

Her eyes were big but softly pushed closed by a forming frown.

Why did all mornings have to be like this?

How can such polarity exist in one single being?

It wasn't the first time she had to deal with the contradiction within herself.

The more she faced those feelings,

the shorter these inner tantrums lasted.

She knew.

These were just tantrums her own individuality underwent.

Tantrums thrown by a reluctant soul.

A mind in denial.

The only way to deal with yourself is with understanding and patience,

and it was a requisite for her to continue moving forward.

Gurgling sounds broke her trance as the water around her heated up as it was mixed with her chi.

One more sigh left her as she calmed herself down and insisted on vibrating on higher frequencies.

**.**

'_Understanding the physics of your own body is key, huh?_'

**.**

The aura around the area returned to its peaceful yet diligent routine.

The fish and creatures beneath her slowly restarting their interrupted rituals.

**.**

'_How much can a human really modify such a big world?_

_If one person can change the world's course through their actions…_

_How much more can be changed?_'

**.**

Her thoughts lingered on the soft darkness inside her

but slowly shifted towards a more scientific and pleasant perspective.

Though upset about the first defeat of the morning,

she decided to continue with the intended training anyways.

Just like that,

the focused chakra under her bare feet slowly diminished

until her whole body was engulfed by water.

And so, the usual training began.

.

.

.

The lake glistened under the autumn colors.

At the bottom of the lake,

chains of white energy tied the girl to the slippery floor.

Sitting with legs crossed,

her eyes opened to show a pair of white orbs instead of her golden tones.

Looking up at the surface,

it became evident noon was creeping up on her as the light penetrated almost all the way down.

Breaking off the connection to the elements used to form the chains,

she felt them slowly dissipate in the water.

With her eyes back to their deep brown,

she impulsed herself towards the surface.

Taking the first breath was always a little complicated.

Being able to manipulate the molecular composition of what surrounds her and being a water enthusiast,

the idea of playing around with the air she breathes to make it possible

to continue breathing underwater became one of her favorite little tricks.

Still,

even after three years since her first experiment,

it still required a lot of concentration.

To modify something to your will you need to understand it.

She didn't quite understand something yet.

When you can't even picture it in your mind,

you can't bring it into life.

She still wasn't able to move freely and keep a constant flow of oxygen.

Having to constantly change the configuration of particles

underwater to gather enough oxygen was overwhelming.

It was easier to borrow it from the surface or emissions from life around her

by creating a molecular link to the top of the lake all the way down to her body,

almost like a ladder, or by taking and mixing from the vegetation and wildlife from the lake.

In the end,

said trick was still limited to a tactical move more than a defensive or offensive one.

Natural energy was very complicated to balance,

exceeding your capacities could be the end of you and of that around you.

That is why she believed the key was in setting limits.

When bombarded with too much energy,

you become overwhelmed.

When overwhelmed, one might end in chaos.

The balance of the shinobi world.

Like many,

she was playing with a metaphorical fire in order to harness these 'abilities'.

.

With her feet back on the surface,

she shook her head to remove some of the excess of water.

She wiped her eyes before focusing a thin layer of chakra around her body

to remove all the sweet water particles,

her whole body becoming impermeable for a second.

Chie didn't want to disturb the space with her training.

So in a way, this was her cleaning up after herself.

As the last droplets of water returned to their place of origin,

she headed towards land and made way towards her bag;

yet, she couldn't find it.

.

.

.

"Ah! Juusan-chan, Tomo-chan told me he asked you to drop by today"

Chie smiled with a hand on the back of her head as she bowed and excused herself for the delay.

"I apologize, Yima-san.

I hope Tomoharu-san is still available, he wanted help with something"

Tomoe Yima was a kind old woman who lived with her youngest son

and ran a delivery service across two nearby towns and this one.

It was frequent that locals from the Land of Grass traded with the nearby towns on the outskirts of the neighboring villages.

Philanthropist or not, philosopher or not,

you need to make a living.

So after meeting Tomoharu, Yima's youngest,

Chie ofered her services to them.

Thus,

she became the one in charge of those deliveries requiring

long-distance travelling or those that were delicate.

More than once she had to face unpleasant customers,

ill-willed deliveries or attempts of robbery.

Though she sometimes couldn't help but slip in a bit of her own sauce,

Chie sure tried to stay at bay and simply fulfill her duties.

Yima smiled at Chie and welcomed her inside,

her wrinkled face looking like a detailed piece of art to Chie.

All the details intrigued her, nature did it better than any artist.

Crossing the corridor towards the small garden,

Chie spotted Tomoharu sipping on a glass of sake.

Raising an eyebrow and with her head leaning to her side

she observed him for a few seconds before announcing herself.

"I ran a little late, I think some animal ran off with my bag or something…

I couldn't find it!

Ended up finding it a few meters away from where I left it but all my things were scattered,

those damn rascal racoons"

The man looked up with surprise as he gulped down his drink.

Moving a bit too harshly,

the glass made a loud noise as he set it back down.

"Ah! Juusan-chan, so glad you could make it"

Chie returned his smile as a weird feeling stirred her stomach.

"Sorry about the time, is everything okay?

Kinda early to be drinking, eh?"

Chie teased with a soft smirk as she looked at the sake in front of him.

Tomoharu fidgeted a little with the bottle as he laughed and put it away.

"Ah, nah… nah… don't worry about it,

just wanted to indulge myself today"

The man was always nice but at times anxious.

Though she didn't know his full story,

she had a habit of doing her own research

so she knew there was nothing on him other than debts from gambling.

He lived with his mom because his wife left him for another man,

richer to her eyes.

Chie was sure there was more to it,

but none of them seemed like a real threat.

"Yeah, I figured. So, what's up? Another delivery?"

Grabbing the glass on the small garden table to look at its design,

Chie sat herself down.

"Yeah, yeah.

It's a little far but not so much that it takes you more than a day"

he spoke calmly and with his back towards her.

"Thing is…"

Tomoharu's orange hair covered his eyes as he turned,

so Chie once again turned her head to her side to look at him and smiled.

"What? You're acting interesting today.

Are you sure you're okay?"

Tomoharu took the hint behind the smile she offered and gulped down the last bit of his drink

before clearing his throat and looking up at her with an apologetic smile.

"Heh heh, I could never hide anything from you, could I?"

Something was up, she could feel it.

But, maybe it had nothing to do with her.

Maybe it was one of those situations where she was just part of the scenery,

part of the behind processes of the main story, a spectator of another's story.

Maybe she'd move some threads but that would probably be it.

After all, she was living simple life,

were you can just jump in on other people's businesses

and still have time to handle your own shit.

Still,

her paranoid self made it hard to relax into that kind of life.

"Sorry about all the secrecy, Juusan-chan.

You know I've had some problems with Satsuki and I think if this delivery goes well

I could strike a great opportunity, so… I'm a little nervous.

I know it's a lot to ask but do you think you could be here by 8pm today?

I want to take the client's pay to seize the deal by 9"

A pang of relief hit her as she looked into his eyes.

She couldn't know for sure,

but she decided to trust him.

She smiled and reassured him she'd do her best and took off with the heavy box.

One could say that what she was doing was work,

but to her it felt like an extension of the dream she herself had been engulfed by just hours prior.

.

.

.

The night cradled her as the sun slowly excused itself for the day.

Dusk starting to hit,

she rushed through the villagers turning off their lights and closing their businesses

and was hit by the streetlamp's light as they were switched on.

It was almost 8pm, the deadline so she sped up and took to the roofs.

"Tomoharu-san, I'm here!"

After a couple knocks on the door,

she opened the door to make her way inside,

excusing herself for the intrusion,

assuming Yima was readying herself for bed already.

The simpleton ruse only lasted for a fraction of a second after that however, as a nasty smell hit her nostrils.

"Ugh!"

She dropped the bag with the money abruptly to cover her nose.

She knew that smell, that metallic yet putrid smell.

It was blood.

She grabbed her metal rod from her pocket,

and swung it to expand it as she cautiously inspected the area.

Room by room she checked, but no blood could be spotted.

Seeing as how smell wasn't her most prominent attribute,

she quietly took a cigarette from her pouch and lit it.

Infusing some of her chakra into the tobacco,

the smoke slowly circled around her and then quickly shot

towards the rest of the house, sending her sensorial stimuli,

indicating her about the presence of big cumulus of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen,

the main components of the human body.

As the smoke reached the room at the back,

it found its target.

Chie ran towards the room and was met with a nasty scene.

The lovely and kind Tomoe Yima laid sprawled on the floor, blood all around her.

**.**

'_Calm down_'

**.**

"Yima-san…"

Chie turned Yima's limp body and looked at her face.

Her eyes were still open,

a scared look painting her face.

The young girl winced at the sight.

The woman had died afraid.

Chie would not forget that.

Yima deserved a better death,

in peace, surrounded by family.

A death of old age.

Not of violence.

A loud crash made her jump.

She gently placed Yima's upper body back down,

sending a quick prayer as she tried to calm herself down.

But she was already fuming internally.

Recalling Tomoharu's strange behavior,

she suspected the worst.

Following the origin of the sound,

she recognized Tomoharu's voice through the loud yells.

"We said 7:15, Tomo-kun"

A female voice reprimended and was followed by Tomoharu's loud yelp.

Hiding behind a wall,

using the darkness to her advantage,

Chie peaked to look at the culprit.

Tomoharu was being held in the middle of the garden.

Chie noticed the beautiful roses from the morning were now destroyed as several men walked all over them.

"Look, look, please… I can't give you what you want, please.

You said 8:15, I told her to be here by 8.

She'll be here, please, you already killed my mother… please let me live! Just wait!"

His begging through tears and his completely broken and scared voice froze Chie.

A thousand ideas began rushing through her circuits.

It was her fault?

She wasn't a spectator?

She was involved in this death?

Why was darkness following her still?

**.**

'_No, fuck that_'

**.**

One of the men caught sight of movement and quickly turned around.

"Fume-san!"

Smoke made its way towards them slowly and the tall woman took notice of it,

hitting the floor with her weapon as if welcoming the attacker.

The woman known as Fume smirked in anticipation as her target came into sight.

"Oi, what is this?"

Fume looked up at the ceiling were she spotted the young girl with long brown curly hair.

Fume chuckled and replied with a sultry, teasing voice.

"My, my, look at her boys. She'll be your dinner tonight"

Cheers of men could be heard.

In the darkness Chie's face contorted with disgust at such animalistic tactics.

"You're the one that goes by Juusan, isn't you?"

It was an interesting accent the tall woman had.

Exotic even.

"What is this? What do you want here?"

Fume smirked once more as she neared her blade to Tomoharu's cheek,

drawing a thin line of blood.

More then the sight before Chie's eyes,

it was the aura around her that gave her nausea.

Again, if it wasn't for the limits she trained so hard on,

no doubt she would be drowning in the sea of malicious intent

emanating from the crowd of bounty-hunters.

She had a bad sense of smell, yet,

she smelled something disgusting as the energy entered her senses.

**.**

'_Don't loose your cool_'

**.**

"What? This?

This is just a pawn"

Chie detected Fume's movements and quickly moved her hand forwards,

the smoke darting towards Tomoharu's body.

Too slow.

Just like that, Tomoharu's chest was pierced.

"Tch…!"

Chie's hand dropped and the smoke returned to a lighter concentration,

spreading around the garden again, creating a mist-like scenery.

**.**

'_Even if I try to strike a conversation…_

_I'm not gonna get much out of them like that…_

_Fuck, I don't want to manipulate people_'

**.**

As Chie tried to strategize her next move and anticipate the others',

she realized, she was letting her morals affect her.

Definitively not the best moment for that.

She sighed.

**.**

'_Alright, let's do this,_

_this isn't the first time, come on_'

**.**

Standing up from her squatting position and with a couple twirls from her rod,

she looked down at Tomoharu's now limp body and sent a prayer.

She jumped down.

"Aren't you a bit too relaxed?",

asked one of the men growling.

Her brown eyes glanced towards him but said nothing.

Planting the rod by her side, her eyes moved back to the woman named Fume.

"What do you want?"

She asked again.

Maybe they were chatty.

The loud sound of vegetation moving gave away as many answers as their silence.

They would not amuse her with conversation and they were Yoruken's hunters no doubt.

The Kusa no Jitsu.

The start and ending blow of a battle had their own momentum.

Long bamboo strands extended from the ground towards where she was standing,

crashing againt the floor and causing a loud rupture in the ground.

Missing by just a fraction of a second,

Chie's body managed to jump and escape from the first attack.

Still a couple feet above the ground,

she caught sight of the men charging towards her.

A green glow now caught her peripheral sight.

The second ninjutsu attack neared her from her right.

Shifting her body weight back mid air,

she swung her rod and twirled with her whole body to avoid the green grass needles sent her way,

managing to hit some of them while creating a rotating cone barrier with the rod.

Loud footsteps accompanied the loud screams of men.

Noises of battle.

Slowing down the rpm,

Chie hung upside down,

looking at the battleground from above.

**.**

'_Eight targets._

_Radius 6 meters._

_11, 9, 3 and 4 o' clock._'

**.**

Finishing calculations,

wanting to intercept the most, the quickest possible,

she quickly made hand signs and the smoke condensed around the designated area,

bringing those it touched to a halt.

Some noticed and jumped,

warning the others,

but this time she was fast enough.

Almost reaching the ground she wondered.

**.**

'_Where's the woman?_'

**.**

As the tip of her toes touched ground,

a strong force came from now her left side and hit her,

sending her off balance and throwing her a couple feet.

Her sight was suddenly covered by vines but through them she could see her captor's smug expression.

"What? Think I'm like the last?

Tch… You're a fucking kid and…

They haven't been able to get you?

Hah!

Well, kid…"

Sure enough, Chie did feel trapped.

That was a feeling she hated,

a feeling she had not felt in a long time.

There was one rule when playing with Yoruken.

**_Do not use natural energy._**

"I'm different"

Fume's voice was cold, and her eyes proved it if anyone doubted her smooth voice.

"**Ah**!"

That damn woman had pierced through the vines with her own sword,

taking advantage of Chie's momentary restrictions.

Feeling the cold blade penetrate her and cause a warm pain in her thigh she groaned in pain.

Gritting through her teeth,

Chie angrily growled as the vines continued pressing on her.

From the lack of movement,

Fume could tell she had managed to stop her target before the situation ended like it did for the last who were sent.

It was clear her target was tactical and should seize all movement before anything else.

Her plan was going well so far.

Sparing a glance back at her companions,

Fume's smirk contorted into a sneer as she noticed only two of the men

were not trapped in a trance because of the smoke.

"What are you idiots doing?

Get thee' good for nothings outta that shit"

Chie flinched in pain and in annoyance at how rude this woman was.

**.**

'_Hah, ironic, _

_I'm bothered by how she's talking to the same men who came with her…_

_'ss wrong with me?_'

**.**

Chie mused herself.

She could've smelled defeat.

But she didn't.

Truth is, she wouldn't feel defeated unless she lost her mind mid-attack.

That was why she strayed away from battle though she loved cultivating herse

lf

as if she were a ninja with regular missions, in charge of taking care of her land.

The type of energy she played around with was the same type of energy that could end her.

Groaning once again from the pain,

she decided to switch from tactical to offensive.

Maybe if the pain and discomfort hadn't been so strong,

or maybe if she had less of an anxious character,

maybe her line of action would have been different.

But it wasn't,

and being unable to make hand signs meant no ninjutsu,

and sincce she couldn't move as her whole body was tied, also no taijutsu.

But her rod was still in her hand.

Fume on the other hand, decided to continue with her plan.

Immobilize the target.

Unarm the target.

Break the target.

Capture and deliver target.

Simple plan.

"What you gonn do now with a broken weapon?"

Fume taunted as she eyed the broken rod on the floor.

Another groan left Chie's mouth as the vines began moving around her,

thorns scratching her whole body in the process.

A space opened in between the vegetation,

bringing into sight the upper portion of her upper body.

As the movement seized, she slowly opened her eyes.

It was then she noticed her face was stinging.

She saw the thorns and understood why

she felt such a burning sensation over her body.

Upon seeing Chie's face, a loud laugh left Fume's mouth.

Brown eyes darted forwards.

"Ah… What a horrible loo-"

The bounty hunter was stopped mid sentence as white light covered her sight

and felt her own body flying backwards.

"Ugh…"

Cleaning her bleeding lower lip,

the previously confident woman looked up as her eyesight adjusted.

Focusing on where the light had come from,

she spotted her jutsu's vines torn on the ground under a now standing Chie.

The young girl's clothes were quite torn,

her black pants barely covering a dim blue light emanating from underneath.

**.**

'_Fuck!_'

**.**

That was all Fume could think as she got up as fast as she could and began running.

**.**

'_We need to regroup and attack from a distan-_'

**.**

Now her thoughts were stopped by realization.

Her 'teammates' were still in a trance,

some laying on the floor after loosing balance from the explosion.

That was exactly what shouldn't have happened.

Now,

from what she had been briefed on,

there were two options.

Either engage in battle or withdraw for the time.

Either of them could either cost her reputation… or her head.

With a flustered howl, her running came to a halt and she turned back to her target.

The woman was no coward, but she was prideful.

"Ya think ya gonn get me, you spunk?!"

Fume growled as she prepared her next attack.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

'_I shouldn't have._

_I should've endured the pain a little longer._

_Should have used ninjutsu… Fuck_'  
**.**

The background was filled by the sound of rubble falling,

but the moans of men slowly began joining the chorus of battle sounds.

Images in flashes began consuming Chie's sight.

Voices began ringing in her ears.

Her senses started picking up on the little details.

Her body slowly connected to that around her,

opening the door to feelings and vibrations.

But none were her own.

"Ugh…"

Chie's legs faltered.

Her head began hurting so she grabbed it.

Pulling on her own hair,

she began grasping for air.

She was fighting herself now.

This too, was exactly what wasn't desired.

"Take this!"

A loud battle cry erupted from Fume's mouth.

Chie's mind was racing,

parts of it collapsing one by one.

She tried to outstretch her own fingers but her hand didn't feel like her own.

The cold autumn night was no longer.

Her hand felt warm sun hitting it.

Then cold water.

Then soft fabrics.

Her eyes didn't see the dark night, nor the bright moon.

Her sight caught glimpses of different moments in time,

from different perspectives.

Though the sense of smell wasn't her best.

Her hearing was.

But her ears were drowned by voices.

As Fume sent her ultimate attack to immobilize Chie,

vegetation darted from everywhere towards the girl's body.

"**Ah**!"

Chie's voice broke through everything as light erupted from her feet

and a strong wave of energy exploded,

she being the point of origin and stretching outwards.

The first wave served as a shield against the vines,

as a white sphere expanded around her.

Plants and branches flew back at Fume who covered her eyes from the objects heading her way.

A second later, a second wave erupted,

now throwing the woman backwards.

The third wave, however, didn't physically move anything.

It did entrap everyone around her though,

securing the link between the host and the guests.

The host was her consciousness.

The guests were theirs.

The problem isn't how much you know,

but how you well you can make use of it.

One thing Mahounaka Chie could not yet do was filter

her mind and heart from what she would witness.

But she had to try, and every day she did.

She trained hard to control herself.

To strain and soothe herself.

To separate herself from the darkness within.

Because the more she saw, the more darkness her own soul hoarded.

It wasn't intentional.

It was simply inevitable.

It was a step of the process.

A process she would have to conquer.

But just as the last figments of her attacker's mind entered her own,

her mind collapsed.

.

.

.

Everything around her was white.

It was as if she was floating on a white bed of energy.

Everything was still.

.

.

.

Swimming

in that pool

of whiteness

was peaceful.

Was that music filling her intestines?

Was it a new flavor on her palate?

Like strings of color and light before her eyes.

Everything was white.

So white it gained a color changing hue.

Was what that scent she felt wrapping itself around her soul?

Floating in a bed of white, staring at white skies.

She felt everything,

yet,

there was no body to feel.

Hanging in the momentum.

Particles frozen in the ripple of time.

_Where was she?_

.

.

.

Around her the was chaos.

Within her, only stillness.

.

.

.

**.**

'_I need to wake up_'  
**.**

Perhaps, after all, she had made some progress.

.

.

.

The rubble around her was no longer falling.

For a second,

what was covered with the light simply floated.

Suddenly coming to complete stillness only to then dart towards her with full force.

Though she somehow managed to repress the nature energy consuming her mind and body,

her lower body was already covered with bright lines forming geometric patterns.

The energy emanating from her lower body was enough to attract all matter around her.

Since this energy was charging without a commander,

its intensity was low, so only those already loose particles flew towards her at first.

Slowly increasing focus,

the intensive energy began forming a sphere around Chie's body.

Her short moment of lucidity was enough for her to make a decision.

Humility is one thing, modesty is another.

She wasn't being modest.

She could not control this.

For years that was the goal of her training,

but that training had not yet finished,

and life kept moving,

waiting for none to adapt.

There was none she trusted who could tame this inside her.

She could think of only one, but she did not trust him.

Reluctantly, she accepted her fate.

She ran.

.

.

.

'_**Run**_'

.

.

.

There was a reason behind why she decided to settle down in Kusagakure.

There were pros and there were cons,

but she felt one outted the other.

On one side,

the one criminal group after her was from Kusa.

On the other,

it was both a safer land and also a safer bet.

When choosing to train something which can spiral out of control,

it is your own responsibility to recognize your own capacities.

To recognize ones flaws is to know how to prepare.

She liked to be prepared.

She knew if she was to embark on said journey, she needed someone else.

Unfortunately,

in her case this meant accepting that if things ever went awry,

she would have to surrender a part of her freedom and then gain said freedom back.

In other words, she had chosen Kusa out of a limited amount of options.

She had to choose to stay relatively close to this man's hideouts.

In the depths of her heart,

she was thankful to know there was _someone,_

_anyone _who could intervene.

But a part of her suffered the pain

of knowing there was nobody she could truly rely on.

She wished there was someone she could truly trust.

The world is a constant trade.

Of emotions, of experiences, of excitement.

_Of power_.

No one would just help her without expecting something in return.

So she might as well at least choose which game to play.

.

.

.

It was dark but the moon was shining.

It's light hit the terrain floor on the outside of the Kusa hideout.

One of hideouts created by Orochimaru, the legendary snake Sannin.

It had been a long time since the Mahounaka teen last encountered the snake.

In fact, the last time she was there she was not a teen yet,

merely a prepubecent girl led down the wrong path by the wrong influences.

Last time, her mother and her had made it very clear

they wanted her future to have noting to do with the snake and his promises.

Now, she was willingly running towards him.

How ironic it was.

If her mind had not being so erratic at the moment, she would've thought so.

.

.

.

"That smug ass face, he should-"

"Oi! Hama, that's cheating-"

"This food is bullshit-"

Though dark, the hideout was lively.

The place was full of people with different intents, different purposes.

Chattering, brawling, screaming, laughing.

There was a bit of everything, just like every other night.

You can't expect such a lively and wild place to be boring.

**Bang**

Silence fell upon the room;

eyes roamed the surroundings,

ears perked, trying to find where the sound came from.

Though the hideout was an underground one, there were several ways to enter.

The sound however, came from none of the entrances.

Instead, the loud bangs seem to increase in volume from the far western side.

Plates of food were dropped.

Friendly and unfriendly matches were brought to a halt.

Weapons were wielded.

_Silence._

Before them, the wall opened.

Nothing had collided with it, yet it moved as if it were a curtain or a veil being lifted.

To them it looked as it another dimension was opening right in front of them.

Stretched images of different rooms were all in a one dimensional plate right in front of them.

Being met only with one face of the cube that truly formed the confusing wall;

they could only see from one perspective.

Faces were stretched in the background, walls pulled against one another.

The whole scene seemed disfigurated to them.

Some dropped their weapons in fear and made a run for it.

Others battled with their own intent for a little longer.

In the end,

almost nobody had moved by the time

the young girl's body emerged from the messy image.

The space opened before her.

She had one goal.

Finding him.

With her arrived a cast of bright light.

Much like her ninjutsu,

the nature energy emanating from her spread across the area,

taking everybody in.

Though they were quiet,

everybody capsuled by this light slowly felt the invasion.

An intruder in their soul,

like a robber in your house,

going through your things while you watch.

Suddenly, they all felt naked under her mind's gaze.

The white energy travelled around the hideout,

taking harsh turns, left, right, up, down,

going through every single door.

Chie's once brown orbs still held color but it had barely any saturation left at all;

her once dark hair now glowing like silver under the sun.

She floated around as the walls behind her returned to normal,

a cloud of urgency filling the aura now.

It sure had been a tumultuous day.

Her body turned abruptly towards her right.

Her hands rose in front of her as her energy grasped the wall in front.

With a sliding motion towards the left and one towards her chest,

the wall opened before her creating a tunnel between her and the far away chamber she was looking for.

On the other end of the tunnel, red eyes readied themselves.

It was as if the world had opened before his eyes

and, at the very of the tunnel, he could see a bright light.

A part of him wondered if he had already been striken and was now in the afterlife.

But, he realized in time it was too soon to get poetic.

For a moment,

it was as if the other two men's bodies and his own

were engulfed by something warm.

It felt as if every single one of the particles

making up their bodies began vibrating.

The feeling lasted an instant, as soon as it faded,

they were face to face with the source of the light.

"Now!"

All she saw was a pair of crimson eyes.

.

.

.

Sasuke's black locks had been flying in all directions just a moment ago.

Now, a young woman kneeled in front of himself, Kabuto and Orochimaru.

Her eyes were wide open, gaze unfocused.

Her mouth was slightly opened.

Her hair moved as if floating underwater.

He had trapped her in genjutsu.

The tremendous whirlwind of energy around her suddenly became unmoving, lingering afloat.

Sasuke stood up straight, ditching his fighting stance and removing his hand from his Katana sheath after a few moments.

Taking in the wild act before him with confusion,

he turned his attention towards the scenery.

Just a few moments ago, a huge tunnel had opened in front of them.

Though the tunnel remained,

he realized the distance between the southeast and the western wing was no more.

It was as if two blocks on the opposite side of a room were pushed together.

On the other side of the opening,

a sight he wasn't expecting presented itself.

"Ah… Excellent, Sasuke-kun"

The snake Sannin motioned towards the girl and

Kabuto immediately rushed to her side.

Wasting no time, he waved hand signs and placed his hand on her back.

Sasuke observed as Orochimaru smiled and whispered an unsettling welcome back before strongly pressing his right palm on her chest.

As soon as they did that, everything was moving again.

And she screamed.

Before long, it was as if nothing had happened

and they were back at the untouched chamber.

But the girl now laying on the floor with an irritated mark on her back wasn't there before.

Confusion was not his favorite position.

"What the hell was that?"

"That, Sasuke-kun, was spatial manipulation"

.

.

.


End file.
